Lady Gaga’s latest album, Mayhem, is a powerful return to the essence of what established her as an unstoppable force in pop music. Gaga once again invokes the themes of sex, sleaze, and stardom that marked her rise to stardom after surviving a lean period in her career where phenomenal commercial success was often succeeded by blunders. Far from sounding like a nostalgic throwback, this album is a trenchant and pertinent statement that reminds us of where she stands in the ever-shifting music industry.
Her hit single Abracadabra has been topping the UK Top 10 for five weeks running, a feat which must surely be a relief to Gaga and her management. Over the past few years, her career has alternated between breakthrough success and disillusioning failure. On the one hand, she performed Die With a Smile, a full-voice ballad with Bruno Mars that reached the top of the charts in 28 nations and was the world’s number one best-selling single for ten weeks. On the other, her lead role in Joker: Folie à Deux was a disaster, the movie with an estimated $150 million loss for Warner Brothers. The soundtrack that accompanied, filled with Gaga’s presence, and her jazz-themed companion album, Harlequin, did not take off. Even her 2021 jazz album Love for Sale, a sequel to her hit collaboration with Tony Bennett on Cheek to Cheek, could not leave a mark.
Some believe that Gaga’s versatility as a performer, something that had made her stand out initially, might have also confounded her fans. Although her talent to effortlessly transition between electronic dance-pop, rock, jazz, and country has been touted, the prevailing streaming environment tends to favor consistency. In a world where artists are nudged to have a distinct, recognizable brand, her perpetual reinvention may have been more of an obstacle than a boon. But Mayhem is a rebellious retort to this idea, an assertive comeback to the iconic Gaga sound that had everyone enthralled when she initially broke through.
The lead singles on the album, Abracadabra and Disease, bring back the things the fans have been missing—pulsating synths, chant-like choruses, and dramatic, fashion-driven visuals. The latter even boasts a vocal hook that echoes the unforgettable beginning of Bad Romance, immediately transporting the listeners to the electric charge of her prime years. The same strategy runs throughout the album, turning Mayhem into an exciting ride for old fans and newcomers alike.
Musically, the album taps into a wide range of influences, yet it is held together with a unified sound. The album is full of infectious electronic beats, powerful piano, and guitar hooks, along with a diverse range of genres. There are obvious references to Daft Punk, disco music from the classics, 80s boogie, and house music. Songs such as Garden of Eden bemoan the ephemeral but exhilarating relationships of the dance floor, while Perfect Celebrity provides a wry commentary on the seedy underbelly of celebrity. The latter contains a scathing line that references her memorable appearance at the 2009 MTV Awards, when she orchestrated a dramatic “death of celebrity” scene during the performance of Paparazzi.
Mayhem is not merely infectious melodies; it also indicates Gaga’s sense of experimentation and surprise. The electro-funk song Killah then abruptly breaks into a frenzied beat with new-wave rock mixed with elements of drum’n’bass. Zombieboy gives a disco-flavored groove, only to be interrupted by a hair-metal guitar solo full of electricity. Though much of her prior work has had a disconnected quality to it in terms of genre-hopping, this album is thoughtfully paced to show her range without losing its sense of self. LoveDrug, for instance, dips into AOR but anchors itself with a consistent dance rhythm, and therefore sounds like it belongs on the album. In the meantime, her classic flair for power ballads appears in Blade of Grass, a song positioned near the end of the album along with Die With a Smile.
The sole evident misstep on the album is How Bad Do U Want Me? , which first fascinates with its early 80s synth-pop tribute but later drifts too far toward current pop fashions, with Taylor Swift’s influence feeling too evident. Though it is a good cut, it is not as cutting edge as the rest of the record.
Gaga is at her finest when she is a trendsetter, not a follower, and Mayhem demonstrates that she doesn’t need to follow the sound of the day—she is the day.
What makes Mayhem so compelling is how seamlessly it blends into the contemporary pop landscape. Instead of sounding like a retro revival, it sounds refreshingly contemporary. One can see the influence of Gaga’s early style in up-and-comers such as Chappell Roan, whose drag-queen-hued imagery and outsider charm are reminiscent of Gaga’s own, and Charli XCX, who embodies an avant-garde, trash-glam vibe à la early Gaga. The world had years to become accustomed to her daring creativity, so Mayhem need not replicate the shock value of her early rise. Instead, it affirms the visionary nature of her artistry and illustrates how the mainstream culture has, in several ways, kept pace with the world she created.
Aside from reclaiming her throne, Lady Gaga also returned to serve as a reminder of the reason why she established it in the first place.
